Cigarette machines and the like



Feb. 17, 1959 T. A. BANNING, JR

CIGARETTE MACHINES AND THE LIKE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June 20, 1955 Q zyaerzir:

Feb. 17 1959 1'. A. BANNING, JR

CIGARETTE MACHINES AND THE LIKE Filed June 20. 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 United States Patent O CIGARETTE lviACHINES AND THE LIKE ThomasA. Banning, Jr., Chicago, Ill.

Application June 20, 1955, Serial No. 516,633

' 49 Claims. c1. isl-ss The present invention concerns itself especially with improvements in pocketv machines for rolling cigarettes and the like. The machines herein disclosed are of a size and shape convenient for carrying in the pocket; and are so constructed as to make it possible for the user to produce a number of cigarettes in. succession from the tobacco and paper contained within the machine.

One of the features of the invention relates to the provision of a machine which can be made relatively thin so that it will not be objectionably bulky when placed in the pocket. In this connection, it is also an object to so arrange the internal devices of the machine as to use the space in a very economical manner, thus making it possible. to increase the amount of tobacco which 1 can be placed in a machine of given size and thus also increase the number of cigarettes which can be produced from a single charging or filling of the machine; or

conversely, the size of the machine can be made proportionatel'ysmaller and still accommodate a specified amount of'tobacco and corresponding number of cigarettes. In this connection'it may be stated that a machine embodying the features of the present invention can be readily designed of a size convenient for carrying in the vest pocket and which have a capacity to produce substantially twenty cigarettes of standard size at a single filling. In this connection a standard size cigarette is understood to be one having a length of, 2% inches and a circumference of 1 3 inches, completely filled with tobacco.

An object of the invention is to provide a machine in which the cigarettes are rolled and drawn out longitudinally, the paper strip being supplied in continuous fashion and the tobacco being rolled into the paper strip as the operation proceeds. The construction herein disclosed is'one in which this result is accomplished. by'a spiralling operation, the paper being spirally wrapped around the continuously forming cigarette; The edges of the so-spiralled paper strip are brought together, gen-. orally in ovelapping' relationship, after the tobacco has; been fed to the'forining spiral. Such strip edges are fastened together with the enclosed tobacco contained in.

the spiralled strip. Usually such strip is provided with a gummed edge so that" by inoistemng the'same after the strip edges have been brought into overlapped relationship the edges are adhered together along the line of spiral. Such gummed edge paper strip is conven-' tional in various operations and arts at the present'time. The machine herein disclosed is one in which the former or twister extends parallel to the length of'the machine and close to one edge of the case. In machines in which the paper'strip is spirally wound, the edge of the paper travels in a direction at an angle to'the'axis of the spirall'er or'twister' and towards said axis, and the roll of paper from which the strip is being drawn should be so. supported as to make it possible'to withdraw the paper strip therefrom in the above mentioned direction and, without "warping or crimping the. paper. One object of the present invention is to so arrange the machine that the paper supply may be located within a chamber lying at right angles to theaxis or the spiraller or twister, and yet in which is produced a satisfactory feed or entrance of the paper strip into the. spiraller or twister. This re sultmay be accomplished by providing a paper chamber of height greater than. the width of. the paper roll so that the roll of paper itself can partially unwind and stretch out lengthwise within said chamber in the form of a loosely wound. roll. The paper strip may alternatively be supplied from the paper chamber to the entrance end of the twister. in various other convenient manners. For example the paper strip may be. supplied froma small roll of paper having its axis at right-angles to the direction of infeed of the strip into the twister. One such scheme is shown in Letters Patent ofthe United States No. 2,788,004, issued to me April 9, 1957 on my application Serial No. 513,119 filed June 3, 1955, and with which application the present application was a copending case. In the case of that earlier application the twister was shown, especially in Figure 9 as having its paper roll axis vertical and with the direction of the axis of the cigarette delivery horn extending rightwardly and upwardly at an angle equal to the angle of spiral, whereas in the present case the twister has been rocked down by the amount of the angle of spiral so that the direction of the axis of the horn is horizontal, the paper being fed into the left-hand entrance end of the twister lnconvenient manner.

In connection with the foregoing, it is also an object to produce an arrangement in which the tobacco compartment is very economically placed and shapediso as to secure a maximum of; space economy within the ma- Q s- Another feature of the invention relates to the pro-v vision of anew and improved cut-off device for cutting oft the. desired length of the rolled cigarette. In this connection, said cut-off device is so arranged that the cutting operation is produced by a shearing action, the knife being given a back and forth movement as well as a traversing movement; and. an object is to so arrange the'machine that this result is accomplished within a very narrow space such as, for example, is available in a relatively narrow machine well adapted for pocket service. In this connection, the arrangement is such that the above movement. is produced by a very simplev mechanism and one which can be produced at low cost and one which is very convenient of operation.

Another feature in this connection. is to-produce a cutottf device. including a removable blade element which canbe readily inserted into .0 .ernoved from a clip. This will make it possible to substitute new blades from time to time as desired, and as needed due to the wearingand 'dullingof the blades in service.

'Another feature or the invention relates to the provision of a construction of machine in which the tobacco is introduced into an opening; in one edge of the case, as distinguished, from introducing the tobacco through arr-end opening. Thisarrangement is in some cases desirable, as for example in the case of a device wherein the paper compartment is located at one end and the cut-ofi' device is located in another compartment at the other end.

' In connection. with the introduction of the tobacco through an opening in one edge of the case, I have also provided a new and'improved means for exerting a spring pressure on the tobacco so as to insure proper delivery of thetobacco into the former or twister; and I have Another feature of the invention: relates to' the pro.

vision of a new and improved means for feeding the tobacco contained in the hopper over to the opening through which said tobacco is delivered into the former or twister. In this connection, it may be mentioned that the machine herein disclosed is one in which the tobacco compartment extends lengthwise over the former or twister a considerable distance beyond the position of the feeding opening through whichthe tobacco is delivered to the former or twister. In order to insure a complete movement of the tobacco to the position of the opening aforesaid, I have provided means for gradually moving the tobacco downwards to the opening and also for moving it endwise to the opening so that a practically complete delivery to the opening is made possible.

Another feature of the present invention relates to the provision of means for rendering the machine inoperative except when a special carton or cartridge of tobacco is introduced into the hopper. For this purpose, the machine herein disclosed includes a door or closure which normally obstructs the movement of tobacco to the port or opening which leads into the former or twister, so that when such door is used, it will interfere with a proper delivery of bulk tobacco to the former or twister. On the other hand, the arrangement is such that upon introducing a proper carton or cartridge of tobacco into the hopper, the door or obstruction above referred to is moved to one side so that an unobstructed passage is provided for insuring a delivery and movement of the tobacco to the former or twister in the intended manner.

Still another feature of the invention relates to the provision of an arrangement in which a water tank of ample capacity is provided, together with a wick for delivering the water necessary to seal the paper as the cigarette is produced. The scaling is then produced by moistening the overlapping edges of the paper strip by such wick. If one or both of said paper strip edges is or are provided with a suitable adherent, such as a gum, one its surface, of proper composition, the moistening of the overlapped edges of the strip will effect sealing of the cigarette. Even in the absence of such gummed surface the moistening of the overlapped edges will produce an adherence of the edges together, as is well known in this art. In this connection,'it is an object to provide the water tank and wick device as a unit which can be readily slipped into place or removed from time to time as desired.

A further feature of the invention relates to the provision of means to urge the tobacco in the direction of paper movement during the rolling process, so that as the tobacco descends from the hopper or other container and comes into contact with the paper strip travelling substantially at right-angles to the direction of tobacco descent, which paper strip is being rolled into the form of the cigarette such tobacco having its direction of travel changed and then is constantly urged along with the paper strip into the final cigarette closing position. By this means the uniformity of filling of the tobacco in the completed cigarettes is ensured, and the tightness of filling of the cigarettes may be pre-determined and made uniform. Specifically, this tobacco urging means comprises a spiral or screw shaped element which extends substantially parallel to the axis of the forming cigarette and is located across the path of tobacco descent into the forming paper tube, and is caused to rotate in direction and at rate conforming to the rate of cigarette withdrawal, so as to urge the descendingtobacco into cigarette forming location at the rate needed to fill the cigarettes or the cigarette tube at all times' at the de-' sired fullness or tightness. More specifically, the arrangement'is such that the rotary movement of such spiral element is produced by the rotary component of movement of the paper strip, thus avoiding the need of providing special driving means for such spiral element. 1 have also provided means to resist the rotary movement of the descending tobacco during the initial stages of movement of the tobacco into the forming paper strip so as to ensure that the rotary movement of the spiral element will properly perform its forward driving function on the tobacco itself.

A further and important feature of this invention relates to the provision of a construction of machine in which the paper strip twister or former and the tobacco hopper are so related to each other that a combination of these elements is produced which is very economical in the space requirements of the ensemble. This further improves what may be called the space ratio, being defined as the total cubical contents of the machine needed for each standard size cigarette to be produced from a filling of the tobacco hopper. The relationship between the twister or former and the tobacco hopper by which the above benefit is secured is as follows:

The twister comprises a paper strip guiding unit having a flat strip guiding entrance portion with its edges provided with parallel paper strip edge guides spaced apart slightly more than the width of the paper strip. These edges guide the movement of the paper strip into an extension in which the unit is curled about an axis extending at an angle to the direction of movement of the strip along said flat entrance portion, which angle is conveniently called the angle of spiral. The amount of such curling is sufiicient to carry the lower edge of the paper strip towards the observer, then upwardly and backwardly and finally downwardly into contact with the opposite edge portion of the paper strip, a complete spiral closing of the lower edge into engagement with the upper edge of the strip having been produced. The spiralling is produced on a diameter substantially the same as the diameter of the cigarette to be produced. The guide flanges may be carried along the edges of the curling portion substantially to the location where the closing of the paper strip has been completed so as to maintain good control over the paper strip during the complete spiralling operation. The completed spiral tube may be withdrawn from the twister at a point beyond the location where the tube closing has been completed. Such withdrawal may be effected by a pulling operation.

In the above operation of changing the fiat paper strip into a spiral seam tube the surface of the paper strip which will become the inside surface of the tube is exposed along the fiat entrance portion of the twister and along the curling portion of the strip up to a location where the curling has been somewhat more than half completed. The tobacco is fed into the forming tube by a movement of the tobacco parallel to the fiat surface of the entrance portion of the twister and in.

direction non-parallel to the axis of tube formation to a location where the tobacco then advances with the paper strip in direction parallel to the axis of the tube. Then as the curling of the strip proceeds the strip is carried over the tobacco and encloses the same as the location of the complete closure is reached.

Now in such an arrangement the flat entrance por tion of the twister lies in a plane tangent to the tube finally produced. by the spiralling operation. This entrance portion of the twister also extends at an angle to the axis of the finally produced cigarette tube, which angle is equal to the angle of spiral of the tube. By locating the twister in the lower portion of the casing of the machine and with the axis of the twister parallel to the bottom of the casing it is evident that the flat entrance portion of the twister .will extend backwardly and upwardly at such angle of spiral. Also such entrance portion of the twister will extend up considerably higher in the casing than the top of the tubular delivery end of the twister. But such entrance portion of the twister is thin since it need have a thickness only slightly greater than the sheet material from which it is made, plus the edge flanges which guide the edges 0 the in-feeding paper strip. I J

Due to the thin dimension-cf the entrance portion of the twister the tobacco hopper or chamber .-may .be carried down over the surface of the entrance portion of the twister to a location substantially in alignment with the top of the tubular delivery end of the twister. Thus very little cubical space of the tobacco hopper of the machine is lost due to the upward and backward slant of the entrance portion of the twister, when the axis of the tubular delivery :end of the twister lies parallel to and close to the bottom of the twister. Thus there is an important and beneficial relation between the twister and the tobacco hopper as disclosed herein.

Other objects and uses of the invention will appear from a detailed description of the same, which consists in the features of construction and combinations of parts hereinafter described and claimed.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 shows a perspective view of a complete machine embodying the features of the present invention, the cover or door being turned into the open position;

Figure 2 shows a perspective view of a special package or carton of tobacco intended for use in the machine;

Figure 3 shows a perspective view of the carton or cartridge of tobacco opened along one edge, removable cover and presser plate and sweep plate being partially set into place;

Figure 4 shows a vertical-longitudinal section through one form of the machine and may be considered as a section on the lines 4-4 of Figures 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, l0, and 11, looking in the direction of the arrows;

Figure 5 shows a horizontal section on the line 55 of Figure 9, looking in the direction of the arrows, the trap door being turneddown into the vertical position;

Figure 6 shows a cross section .on the lines 6-6 of Figures 4, 5, 7, and 8, looking in the direction of the arrows;

Figure 7 shows'a horizontal section on the lines 7-7 of Figures 4 and 6, looking in the direction of the arrows;

Figure 8 shows a horizontal section on the lines 8-8 of Figures 4 and 6, looking in the direction of the ar- .rows;

Figure 9 shows a cross section on the lines 9-9 of Figures 4, 5, 7, and 8, looking in the direction of the arrows, the trap door being in the horizontal or obstructing position;

Figure 10 shows a cross section on the lines 10-10 of Figures 4, 5, 7, and 8, looking in the direction of the arrows; I

Figure 11 shows a cross section on the lines '11--11 of Figures 4, 5, 7, and 8, looking in the direction of the arrows;

Figure 12 shows a'development of one of the side plates;

Figure 13 shows a development ,of the spiraller or twister;

- Figure '14 shows a development of the horizontal partition; Y t

Figure 15 shows a development of the partition which establishes the paper chamber;

of Figure 11, looking in the direction of the arrows;

Figure 17 shows a fragmentary verticallongitudinal section through the left-handend portion of the roller element at the location of entry of tobacco thereinto; and-this figure shows a supplementary element in the form of a spiral or screw-shaped member having an open central core, the outer edges of the spiral convolutions engaging the paper surface to effect, rotary drive of such spiral, and the spiral being retained against endwise movement with the paper strip; and, shows a nar row vertical stationary strip located within the central core of the spiral to retain the tobacco against rotary Figure '16 shows a detailed section on the line 16-16 v movement during the earlyfstages of the rolling operation; and

fashion as the paper strip advances through the device,

the tobacco being rolled into the same so as to produce a continuous length of cigarette. The paper is taken from a suitable supply such as a small roll 21 (see Figure 5) contained within a compartment 22. Any other suitable supply of paper strip may be provided to supply the strip to the twister 20.

The former or twister 20 is made from a blankof sheet metal 23 of the form shown in Figure 1-3. This blank includes a flap 24 along the upper edge, which flap is turned or folded down along the fold lines 25, so that the flap lies substantially parallel to the body portion 23 but separated therefrom a very slight distance to accommodate the thickness of the paper being operated on. Along the other edge of the blank 23 there is a narrow lip 26 which is folded along the fold lines 27 parallel to the fold lines 25 and also leaving a very slight clearance from the body portion of the blank to accommodate the thickness of the paper. At the delivery end of the device, there is a lug 28 which-extends outwardly at an angle to the body portion 23, the angle of which lug is determined bythe angle of spiral on which the paper is to be rolled.

After the lug 24 and lip 26 have been folded down parallel to the body of the blank, the entire blank is rolled on an axis extending in the direction of the arrow 29 and on the proper diameter according to the size of the cigarette itself. The result is the production of a former or twister 20 of the shape shown in Figures 4, 6, 9, and 10 in particular. The lug 28 thenestablishes a delivery horn 30 through which the rolled length-of cigarette is drawn out. The rolling operation may be understood from the following explanation: If the blank shown in Figure 13 have its right-hand end (the lug portion 28) tilted down to bring the line of fold 25 into the slanting position shown in Figure 4 (the lug portion 24 having first been folded down parallel to but slightly separated from the front face of the blank shown in Figure 13 as explained in the preceding. paragraph),

then the arrow 29 will be lying horizontally; With the blank in this position the rolling operation may be performed by taking the lower right-hand ,corner portion of the blank and rolling it towards the observer and up and over away from the observer towards the body of the blank so as to bring the lug portion 28 into cylindrical form of proper diameter to provide the horn 30 shown in Figure 4 and elsewhere, the axis of such horn extending at an angle to the fold line 25 equal to the angle of. spiral. The paper web is of a widthgequal to thedistance between the folded lines 25 and 27, and the upper edge-of the paper travels parallelto the fold lines 25. Theoretically the roll of paper 21 should have its axis extending at right angles to the fold lines'25 and such arrangement is disclosed in another co-pending application for Letters Patent of the United States,

a Serial Number 513,119, filed June 3, 1955, now Patent derstood that the tobacco is introduced intothe begin hing end of the roller'or twister and downwardly through the opening 31 and that the paper is then spiralled and rolled around the tobacco thus being introduced. These actions occur simultaneously with movement of the paper strip from the left-hand entrance end of the twister to wards the right-hand delivery or horn end of the unit. There is therefore provided a hopper or chamber 32 for tobacco above the position of the twister or former 20. a In order to make it possible to make use of a tobacco chamber 32 of substantially rectangular form in a device of minimum overall length, it is sometimes desirable to place the paper roll 21 at right angles to the axis of the twister or former 20 (that is at right angles to the arrow 29) instead of at right angles to the fold line 25. Such construction is shown in the present case (see Figures 4 and 12). In so doing, the paper roll 21 should be loosely formed so that the paper can pull off of the same and travel with its edge parallel to the fold lines 25, and for this purpose the height of the paper compartment 22 should be greater than the width of the paper roll, which construction is well illustrated in Figure 4. Thus the paper roll Set into the compartment '22 should preferably be rather loosely wound and the central portion of such loosely wound roll should preferably be pressed up along the axis of the roll of paper as the paper roll is set into said compartment 22. Thus the length of the roll will become greater than the actual width of the paper strip. Thus, too, the upper end of the roll will assume a somewhat conical form, and a convex cone will appear at the lower end of the roll. The stretched out roll thus formed may be accommodated within the chamber 22 whose height (as seen in Figures 9 and 4) is greater than the actual width of the paper strip. The paper roll arrangement shown in Figures 4 and is shown only by way of illustration and not as a matter of limitation of the scope of my .present invention.

The blank 23 is formed with a lug 33 extending at right angles to the direction of the arrow 29, which lug reaches over into the paper compartment 22 and establishes a surface against which the paper web travels as it enters the former or twister. There is a partition 34 which establishes the front of the paper compartment 22 and the lower end of this partition is turned back to form the floor 35 of the paper compartment. This partition is made up of a blank of the general type shown in Figure 15. The edge of the partition 34 is preferably rolled as shown at 36 in Figures 4 and 5 to provide a rounded surface which acts in cooperation with thelug 33 to establish a light easy pressure against the web of paper moving from the paper compartment into the former or twister.

The front end or born 30 of the former or twister is provided with side slotted openings 37 and 38. The rolled tubular cigarette moves past these openings as it travels through and out of the horn 30; and the thumb and tore-finger can be readily introduced through these openings in order to grasp the rolled cigarette therein and draw the same outwardly so as to cause the cigarette to be 'projected beyond the end of the born as shown by the dotted lines 39 in Figure 4. The cigarette may then be drawn on out to whatever length isdesired and may then be cut off by the cutter to be presently described. In this drawing out of the cigarette it should be given a-rotating or twisting pull corresponding to the angle of spiral produced by the twister. Thre is afloo'r partition 40 placed directly above the position of the former or twister 20, as shown in Figures .4, 5, 6, 9,and l0 ,-lin particular. This partition 49 is providedwith the opening 31 which registers with the opening. through which the tobacco enters the former or twister.- The 'front end portion of the floor 40 is curved upwardly. and then straight up to establish an end partition 41 at the front end of the tobacco hopper or'compartment .32.. V t H It is here' noted that the paper strip entrance end of thetwister extends upwardly and leftwardly, its upper edge being defined bythe leftwardly and upwardly slanting dotted line in Figure 4 so that a large part of the twister unit to the left of the delivery horn 30 reaches up at the far side of the tobacco hopper 32. The slanting dotted line is evidence of such fact. Such fact is also evident from examination of Figures 5, 6, 9 and 10, which are cross-sections looking towards the delivery end of the machine. Thus the width of the to bacco chamber 32 (being the transverse dimension thereof in Figures 5, 6, 9 and 10) is correspondingly slightly reduced for a machine of specified overall width. However, the thickness of the entrance portion of the twister triangular portion thus lying to the left face of the to bacco chamber is very small, being only about three times the thickness of the blank shown in Figure 13. The gain in tobacco capacity of the chamber 32 due to ability to carry said chamber clear down to the elevation of the delivery horn 30 (due to the setting of the twister into the machine with the axis of the horn parallel to the floor of the machine) far exceeds the slight loss of capacity of the tobacco chamber due to the thickness of the flat lefthand entrance portion of the twister.

The devices so far described are located between a pair of side plates 42 and 43 which are of the general form of the blank shown in Figure 12. Each of them is provided with suitable slots 43a to receive suitable lugs or tines 44 on the partitions etc., so that the partitions and side plates can be clinched together to establish a self-contained unit. The former or twister is located between the lower portions of this self-contained unit and may be readily connected to plate 42 by rivets, soldering, or otherwise, so that it also will be integral with said unit.

It will be understood that the tubular cigarette produced by the former or twister 20 is spirally wrapped and is provided with a spiral lapped seam. Furthermore, it will be understood that as the forming cigarette emerges from the horn 30, it is rotating at a rate dependent upon the rate' of advancement through the former or twister as compared to the angle of spiral pro duced in the former. The device is so proportioned that the lapped edges of the advancing paper are at the bottom side of the device immediately after emerging from the former or twister 20, and as the operation proceeds, the lapped over edges will maintain such bottom location directly in advance of the delivery end of the horn 30 during the spiral advancement of the forming cigarette.

I have provided a sealer for moistening the lapped over edges at such bottom location. The same includes a thin Water tank 45, located immediately beneaththe former or twister 20 and preferably occupying the full width of the device between the side plates 42 and 43. Furthermore, this tank 45 may be made of practically the full length of the machine as shown in Figure4. This water tank 45 is provided with a suitable wick which extends out through and slightly beyond an opening at the front end of the device and slightly beyond the position where'the lapped portion of the forming cigarette emerges from the vhorn 30, the projecting por. tion of the wick being shown at 46 in Figures 4 and 5. The water tank may be filled from time to time by removing a screw 47 preferably located at the front end of the device. As a matter of convenience, the water tank may be made 'as a self-contained unit and can be slipped into place between the sideplates 42 and 43 and immediately above the bottom of the case to be presently described, and ifvdesi'red the water tank can be made a slide fit so that it can be pulled out endwise from time to time as desired, but with sufticient friction so that it-will normally beheld in place within the case; By this arrangement it is possible to slip the water tank 9 out from .time to time in order .to ,facilitate adjustment of the wick or for the pnrposetotffillingthe tank by the use of an .eye-dropperor otherwise.

When .a suitable length or cigarette has been withdrawn, it-is desired to cut off the same with a clean-cut operation. The cutter device is located within'a small compartment 48 located at the front end of the machine and immediately in advance of the partition 41. The

cut-oil device illustrated includes a lever 49 extending across the compartment 43 and pivoted to the side plate 42; a link 50 extending partially across themachine is pivoted to the side plate 43; and a hollow clip 51 is located in the compartment 48. The upper end of the (clip 51 is :pivoted to the lever 49 at the point 52, and the central portion of the clip .is pivoted to the link 50 at the point 53. A light spring 54 normally-draws the lever '49 and other parts upwardly, and theend of the parts is suflicient to hold the removable blade in place in the clip. Nevertheless, said blade-can be withdrawn from time to time as necessary in order to substitute a new and sharp blade.

With the above device, it will be seen that when the finger piece 55 is pressed down, the lower cutting-edge of the blade is rocked rapidly towards the right in Figure 11 as it descends until it reaches a position at or slightly beyond the righthand limit of the tubular cigarette, and as the downward movement continues the blade swings back towards the left in Figure 11 until the operation is completed. The proportions are such that during this traverse, the entire cross section of the rolled cigarette is traversed by the sharp edge of the blade, and during practically the entire movement a shearing action is produced so that the cigarette is .properlycuttively narrow confine of structure, so that the desired shearing action is produced within a thin machine and one which can be readily carried in the pocket. In fact, the lateral dimensions do not need to be muchlarger than the actual diameter of the cigarette itself.

It will also be noted that with the above arrangement, it is possible to secure the complete traverse of the cross section of the cigarette without bringing'the pivotal point 53 or link 50 into the perimeter of the cigarette so that the cut-oif ends of the cigarette are not tornor broken .up. This is due to the fact that the cutting edge .of the blade 56 is located sufficiently low beneath the pivotal .point 53. I I I As a matter of convenience and cheapness of construction the lever 49 and link 56 are made of sheet metal and their ends are twisted as shown at 57 and 58 in Fig urell. The extreme ends ofsaid twisted portions are then formed into pins 59 and 60 which are hooked behind pairs of cars 61 formed at the proper position on the side plates 42 and 43, respectively. Another ear 62 may be formed on the side plate 42 to receive the upper end of the spring 54.

.One of the features of the present ihventionrelates to the provision of means for preventing .a proper movement of the tobacco to theformer or twister except upon the introduction of a package or carton which is specially made to .fit into this machine. In the present case, there is provided a light trap-door or leaf .63 ;one edge of which is pivoted to the side plate 43 along the hinge 64 (see Figure 9 in particular) said hinge lying parallel :to said plate 43, a light spring 65 servingto normally swing said trap door .63 up intoposition of Figure? in which said door extends across the tobacco hopper and off without tearing it or disturbing its form. It will also be noted that these results are produced within a'rela- -thus interferes with a gproper rmovement of the tobacco downwardly to the opening 31. Upon introducing bulk tobaccoiinto wthe topof the hopper, the-door 63 will'not be properly opened and the tobacco will not feed gproperly.

Upon setting a proper carton or-cartridge of tobacco down through the upper end of'the hopper, the same will press down against the door 63 and swing the same down into the vertical position illustrated in Figures 5 and 6, whereupon the tobacco will feedproperly to the opening 31.

The devicesso far described may be contained within a suitable case or enclosure. That illustrated in the drawings includes the sidewalls 66 and 67, the top 68, bottom 69, front end 76, and a back end-closure which in the present case is in the form of a U-shaped clip 71. Said U-shaped clip has the side fingers 72 and 73 and said clip may be pulled oft backwardly sons to expose the paper :chamber 22 and permit introduction and threading in of a newstrip of paper in accordance'with the manner which will be readily appreciated by examining the drawingsand also .as set forth in said (20- a 73 through which the finger-piece '55 is-exposed so as ;to

enable thecut-ofi device to be readily-manipulated through said slotted opening. The-side plate 43 is alsosiinilarly slotted.

Preferably acover section 74 is hingedto the-bottom 69 along the hinge line 75. This coverca'n be turned down into the open position of .Figure .1 when the device is to be used, and can ,be turned up into the-closed position of Figure 4 when the device is out of service. When the cover thus closed, the horn 30, and the wick, etc., are well protected so as toprevent the ingress of dirt and foreign matter and alsotto reduce evaporation-of moisture .from the Wick. t

There-is aremovableeover plate 76 in the top of the .case, which covertplate when removed gives access to'th'e tobacco hopper32. There is also aspring presser plate 77ofthe general dimensions of length and width of the it'obac-cohopper. A semi-elliptic spring .78 has its central portion riveted ortotherwise secured to the .cover plate 76 and its end portions 79 and -80 press against the end portions ofthe presserplate 77. There are also aside tsemielliptic springs 81 and 82 which have their-central portions riveted tothe presser plate 77 asshown at 83 in Figure 10, the ends of the springs 81 and182ipressingnp againstith'e cover plate '76.

8 5and operates insaid depression ,86 so thalby turning .t hefinger piece thepin is turned. The lower end .of the pin .SSTcarriesahook .88. When thefpin and finger piece iare turned across the. cover plateas shown in Figure 3, the hookf88,disengages from the bifurcated stud .83, but, when the linger-piece turned lengthwiseof-thecover-plate I as -shown. .int F.igure- 1, the .hook -88 can .engage thetbifura catedrs tud 83 so as to lock the spring paper-clip 77'close asserts to .the' cover plate after the fashion shown Figures 3 said links passing freely through clips 92 and 93 carried by the cover plate 76. There are suitable openings in the end partition 34 and 41 corresponding to the ends of said links. When the finger piece 87 is turned across the cover plate as shown in Figure 3, the links 90 and 91 are drawn inwardly so as to disengage their end portions from the partition openings, whereas when the finger piece is turned lengthwise of the cover plate as shown in Figures 1, 4, and 7, the links engage the partition openings and lock the cover plate in place.

It will be seen that with the above arrangement, by turning the finger piece 87 across the cover plate said cover is unlocked and can be removed from the case, bringing with it the presser plate 77, the springs being fully extended. The presser plate 77 may then be pressed up close to the cover plate 76 so as to compress the springs as shown in Figure 9, and then the finger piece 87 may be turned parallel to the cover plate 76, allowing the stud 83 to move up slightly, and then the finger piece may be again turned across the cover plate so as to lock the stud 83 to the clip 88 and retain the presser plate 77 close to the cover plate 76 as clearly shown in Figure 3. When the cover plate is thereafter set back into the case, the tobacco having been introduced into the hopper 32, and the finger piece 87 is turned lengthwise, the spring presser plate will be released and at the same time the links 90 and 91 will be moved outwardly endwise so as to lock the'cover plate in place. Thus, the spring presser plate is released so as to permit the springs to exert a pressure on the tobacco, and simultaneously therewith, the cover plate is locked into place so that it will properly resist the outward thrust due to such spring pressure.

It will be noted that as the spring presser 77 moves away from the cover plate 76 and downwardly into the hopper so as to move the tobacco down into the opening 31, as needed, the end portions of the spring 78 will draw towards each other and towards the center of the device. The spring presser plate 77 is longitudinally slotted as shown at 94 and 95 in Figure 8, and the ends of the spring 78 are provided with studs 96 and 97 extending through said slots and having enlarged head on their bottom sides as shown in Figures 4 and 8 in particular. There is a light leaf 98 made of light spring material having its upper end connected to the end portion of the spring 78 by a narrow web extending through the slot 94. Consequently, as the spring presser plate 77 moves downwardly, this spring leaf 98 will be dragged towards the middle of the opening 31, thus sweeping the tobacco with it towards said opening 31. At the same time, this leaf 98 is sufiiciently light and springy as compared to the semi-elliptic springs so that it can properly deflect inwards after the fashion shown in Figure 4 as the presser plate 77 moves towards the bottom or inner portion of the tobacco hopper.

Such'movement is also facilitated by the curved connection between the partition 41 and the floor 40.

' It is thus evident that-I have provided herein means to move the tobacco contained within the front portion of the hopper and which is in advance of the. opening 31 leading to the twister, rearwardly to said opening 31, and at the same time I have provided means to press the tobacco within the hopper downwardly towards the opening 31. Thus a two-fold effect is produced, namely, a downward urge of the tobacco towards and through the opening 31 and against the exposed surface of the paper strip which surface lies to the left of the completion of the paper tube spiralling operation, while at the same time producing a leftward sweep of the tobacco within the right-hand portion of the hopper. This latter function ensures acomplete delivery of all tobacco from the hop- 12 pet to the twister as the hopper becomes more and more depleted of its charge of tobacco.

In Figure 2, there is shown a suitable package or carton of tobacco 99 of proper shape and size to be inserted into the tobacco hopper 32. One edge 100 of this package can be torn off as shown in Figure 3 at the same time destroying the stamp 101. The cover plate 76 is provided with four corner wires 102, 103, 104 and 105, which can be slipped down into the corners of the opened package of tobacco, the spring leaf 98 at the same time being slipped down along one end of the package as shown in Figure 3. This will insure proper registry of the cover plate with the package of tobacco. The bottom face 106 of the tobacco package can then be torn oi, the device having been inverted, and the unit can then be slipped up into the tobacco hopper which has been inverted for this purpose. The cover plate can then be locked to the case in the manner already explained.

The corner wires 102, 103, 104, and 105 serve to hold the paper carton sufficiently stretched and in shape when inserted into the machine to insure that the door 63 will be pressed down and open and retained in such condition during the operation of the device. In the supplemental feature shown in Figures 17, 18 and 19, I have provided a spiral or screw element 106 in the form of a thin strip spiralled in form to provide an open spiral, leaving a central open core section or passage 107. The convolutions of the spiral are preferably more open or spread farther apart at the left-hand or entry end of the spiral than at their right-hand end, the spread of the convolutions preferably changing regularly from left to right into a more closed or tighter form of spiral. This spiral is of size to fit nicely within the forming paper tube, and to exert a light pressure of its edges against the inside surface of the paper strip, compressing such paper strip slightly between the edges of the spiral and the surface of the former element. It is noted that this spiral extends slightly into the horn of the former, at the righthand end of the spiral. The

left-hand end of the spiral is anchored against movement rightwardly, while allowing the spiral to rotate at speed corresponding to the rotary component of movement of the paper strip during the cigarette forming operation. Accordingly, while the rotary movement of the paper strip is communicated to this spiral, so that the spiral will exert a driving force towards the right (that is, towards the horn of the former), paper strip rotary component being in the counterclockwise direction in Figures 6, 9, 10 and 18, backward or leftward movement of the spiral bodily is resisted by the anchoring, so that a drive is' exerted rightwardly against any tobacco in contact with the spiral surface. Such rightward drive assists movement of the tobacco descending from 'the hopper into the cigarette former, thus ensuring uniform filling of the forming cigarette prior to the time that the completely formed cigarette enters the horn.

Now such rotary movement of the spiral naturally tends to cause the tobacco to rotate in the former, following the rotary movement of the spiral itself. In case such tobacco rotation should be equal in rate to the rate of rotation of the spiral no forward drive of the spiral against the trapped tobacco would occur, and the tobacco would merely rotate with the spiral and would not be driven forward. In order to prevent or retard such rotary movement of the tobacco during the operations within the forming section of the former element, and thus to ensure development of the desired forward drive of the descending tobacco,- Ihave provided the thin vertical strip 108 extending longitudinally through the central core of the spiral, from a location near the left-hand end of the former, preferably to a location slightly within the born, or nearto the beginning end of the horn. This strip has. its left-hand anchored against rotation and against rightward movement along the former, thus re;- taining a fixed but slightly flexible position'within the 13 open core of the spiral. This strip is convenientlymade of slightly springy material but thin so that it.doe'snot materially interfere with the full cross-section of the Cigarette former. The strip is retained in. vertical position, as shown in Figure 18. Thus the descendingv tobacco moving down from the bottom of the. hopper is allowed to descend fully into the left-hand portion of the cigarette former at both sides of such-strip; and the tobacco particles, even when somewhat stringy, will readily find their way into the body of the former. There they will be restrained against rotary movement, while their forward. movement under drive of the spiral is not materially interfered with.

Conveniently, the left-hand end of the thin strip is of reduced size, to provide the shoulder 1G9, and the lefthand end of the spiral strip is brought into axial position, and perforated to receive the leftwardly projecting stem 110 of the strip 1&8, such perforation being of size such that the spiral cannot shift rightwar-dly from its so-anchored position. The stem 110 is then set through an opening of the partition 34 and riveted in place therein, thus retaining the strip against rotation and rightward movement along the cigarette former, and also provid ing an abutment on which the spiral may rotate without being allowed to move rightwardly withv the tobacco; and such abutment'also actually prevents leftward shift of the spiral to balance the rightward driving, force developed by the spiral against the tobacco.

The spiral is preferably made of graduated spacing between its successive convolutions as well shown in Figure 17. These spacings are of reduced size as the horn is approached. Accordingly, a packing action is produced on the tobacco, so that when the cigarette forming operation has been completed the tobacco will be packed to the desired degree of firmness in the cigarette. Preferably the spiral is originally formed of diameter slightly greater than can be accommodated within the paper strip moving through the former, and such strip is made of springy material such as thin steel or brass strip. Also the convolutions of the spiral are slightly compressed or biased towards each other closer than when the spiral is in operative position within the former. Then, by pulling the right-hand end of the spiral (located within the horn) slightly to the right, the left-hand end of the spiral being anchored as explained above, the convolutionsof the spiral will be stretched. out and at the same time the diameter of such convolutions will be slightly reduced to free their outer edges somewhat from engagement with the surface of the paper (if in place). Such pulling may be readily performed by a hook-like instrument inserted through the right-hand open end of the horn,'the cutter being out of the way. This will facilitate introduction of the paper strip through the length of the former during the initialthreading operation, and when there is no tobacco in the hopper. Having thus introduced the paper strip (its'movem'e'nt being between the slightly contracted edge of the spiral as explained above and the surface of the former), so as to 'bring the end of such paper strip to the right-hand open end of the horn, the right-hand end of the spiral may be released, allowing the spiral to contract slightly under its normal bias of spring. Such contraction will be accompanied by slight expansion of the diameter of the spiral convolutions, so that the outer edges of such convolutions will now engage firmly but slightly against the surface of the paper strip in. the desired manner.

To better ensure good engagement of the spirals convolutions with the surface of the paper strip, and to ensure good. drive of the spiral in rotary direction by the rotary component of the paper strips movement, the edges of the convolutions may be coated with a thin-layer of such material as dried latex or rubber, quite thin, and just'thick enough to give'anon-slippery surface of. the spirals convolutions. Conveniently also the spiral strip may beformed of cross-section such as shown inFigure 19.. Thiswill give an enlarged surface of the outer paperengaging edges. of the, convolutions, and produce the desired thin radially extendingportion of the element. This. form of spiral may be. produced by initially forming a rectangular rod or strip, such as shown at 111 in Figure 19, into the desired spiral form. Thereafter such so-f ormed spiralled rod may be run between two rollers of form to reform the section. of the rod into such a section as shown in Figure 19, thinningthe material to the desired-degree and increasing its radial dimension to the desired amount. Other methods of forming the spiral will suggest themselves to the manufacturer, and the foregoing operations are suggested by Way of example, only. It is noted, however, that the section of material shown in Figure 19 presents the desirable features of thinness of the major portion. of the spiral, that located towards the axis of rotation, combined'with an increased surface of engagement with the surface of the paper strip.

The foregoing spiral strip drive arrangement may also be used in connection with such formers as shown in my aforesaid co-pending application, Serial No. 513,119, filed June '3, 1955, now Patent No. 2,788,004, issued April 9, 1957.

While I have herein shown and described, only certain embodiments of the features of my present invention,

still I do not intend to limit myself thereto. except as I may do so in the claims.

I claim:

1. A cigarette roller including in combination a cigarette former comprising a sheet metal blank of generally rectangnlar elongated shape one end thereof comprising a tubular horn producing portion for a horn having; its axis extending in a direction nonparallel to thelongitudinal axis of the blank by an angle substantially equal to the angle of spiral of a spirally wrapped cigarette to be produced by use of said cigarette former, a portion of said blank comprising the end horn producing portion and the proximate lower forward corner portion of the blank, being cylindrically curled on a radius the same as the radius of the horn, and the diameter of the horn being substantially the same as the diameter of a cigarette to be produced by said cigarette former, said so-curled corner portion of the blank merging with the non-curled and flat portion of the blank on a line lying parallel to the axis of the. horn, the axis ofsaid tubular horn. portion and said curled portion being non-parallel to the longitudinal axis of the blank by an angle substantially equal to the angle of spiral of a spirally wrapped cigarette to be produced by use of said cigarette former, said non-curled and flat portion of the blank comprising a paper strip entrance, portion of the, cigarette former, a substantially rectangular housing enclosure hav-. ing parallelside walls separated from each other a dis-. tance to, accommodate the diameter of the paper roll and the diameter of the horn and the curled portion of'the blank, said housing including a top and a bottom and a' front wall, the cigarette former being seated within the lower portion of the housing and in proximity to the housing bottom with the flat portion of the cigarette former substantially parallel to one of the side wallsof the housing and with the axis of the horn and the curled portion substantially parallel-to the bottom of the housing and with the central axis of the paper roll supporting section at a substantial angle to the bottom of the housing, and a floor extending across the Width of the housing enclosure above the curled portion of the cigarette former commencing substantially'at the location of the tubular horn and extending substantially to the location of the. paper strip entrance portion of the cigarette former, said'fi oor being provided with an opening adjacent to the Hat portion of the cigarette former and establishing communication from a tobacco containing space within the housing enclosure above said floor to the cigarette former forv feedof tobacco fromsaid space to a paperstrip lyingand, travelling within the former,

. l 15 2. Means as defined in claim 1, wherein the flat portion of the blank is of greater vertical dimension along that portion of its top edge which lies forwardly of the paper strip entrance location than the vertical dimension of said paper roll supporting section, and wherein said greater vertical dimension top edge portion is folded down and parallel to and slightly separated from the cigarette paper guiding surface of the blank to establish a thin paper receiving and guiding passageway having its rear end located adjacent to the paper strip entrance location to receive and guide the top edge portion of the paper strip advancing into the cigarette former, and

wherein the lower edge portion of the blank in advance of said paper strip entrance location is folded upwards and parallel to and slightly separated from the cigarette paper guiding surface of the blank to establish a thin paper receiving and guiding passageway extending along the curled edge of the cigarette former from the location of the paper strip entrance location to a location close to the proximate end of the horn.

amen

3; Means as' defined in claim 1, wherein the horn is located above the bottom of the housing, and wherein the curled edge portion of the cigarette former delivers the proximateedge of the paper strip into overlapping engagement with the opposite edge portion of the paper strip, and wherein the wrapped and formed cigarette advancing through the horn has the edge portions of its paper wrapping of spiral formation along the length of thecigarette, and wherein the spiralled edge portions of such wrapping emerge from the born with the overlapped edge portions facing downwardly, together with means located at lower elevation than the horn to moisten the overlapped edge portions aforesaid at a location beyond the delivery end of the horn. I

4. Means as defined in claim 3, wherein said moistening means includes a container for water located between the housing floor and the lower portion of the cigarette former, and a wick extending from the interior of such container to a point of paper strip moistening outside of and beyond the delivery end of the horn.

' 5. Means as defined in claim 3, together with means located above the horn to cut-off the delivered cigarette at a point beyond and in close proximity to the delivery end of the horn, said cutting means including .a knife having a cutting edge, movable means to support the knife, and means to movably support such movable means through a path of movement across the path of the cigarette length delivered from the horn.

6. Means as defined in claim 5, wherein the movable means which movably supports the knife supporting means includes means to guide the knife supporting means with vertical movement of the knife supporting means, and means to reciprocate the knife supporting meansduring such vertical movement.

7. Means as defined in claim 6, wherein the reciprocation of the knife supporting means occurs within the confines of the housing between the side walls thereof.

8. Means as defined in claim 1, wherein the tobacco containing space within the housing is substantially rectangular in vertical section and of substantially uniform width across the housing.

9. Means as defined in claim 8, wherein the opening of the floor between the cigarette former and the tobacco containing space is located adjacent to the rear end of the floor and in proximity to the paper strip entrance location defining partition.

10. Means as defined in claim 9, together with a vertically movable tobacco presser plate within the tobacco containing space and above the tobacco contained in such space, and spring means to urge said presser plate downwardly towards the floor.

11. Means as defined in claim 10, together with a scraper plate within the tobacco containing space comprising a strip. of spring material of concavo-convex form having its concave surface facing towards the rear end of 16 the housing and having its lower end portion in scraping engagement with the floor in advance of the floor opening, and means to move said scraper plate towards the floor opening during downward movement of the tobacco presser plate towards the floor.

' 12. Means as defined in claim 11, wherein the scraper plate occupies a position in the front portion of the tobacco containing space when the tobacco presser plate occupies a position in proximity to the top of the tobacco containing space.

13. A cigarette roller including in combination a cigarette former comprising a sheet metal blank of generally rectangular elongated shape having a hollow horn producing portion at one of its ends, the axis of the horn extending in a direction non parallel to the longitudinal axis of the blank by an angle substantially equal to the angle of spiral of a spirally wrapped cigarette to be produced by use of said cigarette former, the portions of said blank comprising the horn and the blank adjacent to the horn being curled on a radius substantially equal to the radius of a cigarette to be produced by said cigarette former, said so-curled portion of the blank which is adjacent to the horn merging with the non-curled and fiat portion of the blank on a line lying parallel to the axis of the horn, said fiat portion comprising a paper strip entrance portion, the axis of said horn portion and said curled portion being non-parallel to the longitudinal axis of the blank by an angle substantially equal to the angle of spiral of a spirally wrapped cigarette to be produced by use of said cigarette former, the upper portion of the cigarette former being open for infeed of tobacco from a tobacco containing space above such open portion of the cigarette former, means to supply a continuous strip of cigarette paper in facial contact with the fiat entrance portion of the surface of the blank, means to guide said paper strip in facial contact with the surface of the blank during its movement along the blank in a direction parallel to the longitudinal axis of the blank towards the location of the horn for the cigarette tobacco wrapping operation means to feed tobacco in direction parallel to the flat entrance portion of the blank and into the upper rear open portion of the cigarette former and into engagement with the surface of said paper strip, the surface of the paper moving over the curled portion of the blank having both a rotary component of motion about the extended axis of the horn and a longitudinal component of motion along said extended axis during said paper movement, together with means located in proximity to the paper strip and parallel to the said extended axis to urge the infeeding tobacco in the direction of said axis and towards the horn.

14. Means as defined in claim 13, wherein said urging means comprises a spiral element located concentric with the said extended axis and having its outer perimeter of diameter not greater than the diameter of the cigarette to be produced by said former.

15. Means as defined in claim 14, wherein the said outer perimeter of the spiral is in proximity to the surface of the paper strip, together with means to retain the rear end of said spiral against movement longitudinally within the cigarette former during longitudinal movement of the tobacco towards the location of the horn.

16. Means as defined in claim 15, wherein the means which retains the rear end of the spiral against movement longitudinally includes means to journal the spiral for rotation about an axis substantially parallel to the extended axis of the horn and wherein the outer perimeter of the spiral is in rotary driving engagement with the surface of the paper strip.

17. Means as defined in claim 16, wherein the spiral element comprises a thin strip of material of radial dimension less than the radius of the cigarette to be produced by the cigarette former, and wherein said spiral element is provided with a central longitudinally extending open core.

18. Means as defined in claim 17, together with a thin elongated strip located axially within. said central core and lying in a plane substantially parallel to the direction of infeed of tobacco into the cigarette former, and means to support the rear end of said strip in said position and against movement longitudinally along the said extended axis in direction towards the horn, and against rotation about said axis.

19. A cigarette roller including in combination a cigarette former comprising a sheet metal blank of generally rectangular elongated shape one end portion of the body of the blank comprising a horn portion with the axis of the horn extending in a direction non-parallel to the longitudinal axis of the blank by an angle substantially equal to the angle of spiral of a spirally wrapped cigarette to be produced by use of said cigarette former, a portion of said blank being curled about the axis of the horn and comprising the end horn producing portion and the proximate forward corner portion of the blank, said horn being of diameter substantially the same as the diameter of a cigarette to be produced by said cigarette former, and the corner portion of the blank which is in connection with said tubular horn being curled about the backwardly extended axis of the horn on a radius of curvature substantially the same as the radius of the tubular horn, said so-curled corner portion of the blank merging with the non-curled and fiat portion of the blank on a line lying parallel to the axis of the horn, means to supply a strip of paper in fiat engagement with the fiat surface portion of the cigarette former for infeed along the cigarette former towards the horn with movement of said strip substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the blank, the upper portion of the cigarette former at the location of said flat surface portion being open for infeed of tobacco from a tobacco containing space in direction substantially parallel to said fiat surface portion, and means to guide said strip of paper in facial contact with the surface of the blank during its movement along the blank towards the horn.

20. Means as defined in claim 19, together with means to urge movement of tobacco through. said upper rear portion of the cigarette former and towards the longitudinal axis of the cigarette former.

21. Means as defined in claim. 20, wherein. the tobacco containing space extends forwardly above such. former to a location in advance of the open infeed portion of the former, together with means urging tobacco within the tobacco containing space rearwardly towards such open infeed portion of the former.

22. Means as defined in claim 20, wherein the means to urge tobacco through said upper rear portion of the cigarette former includes means to urge the tobacco downwardly parallel to said upper. flat portion of the former. I

23. Means as definedv in claim 21, wherein the means to urge tobacco through said upper rear portion of the cigarette former includes means to urge the tobacco downwardly parallel to said. upper fiat portion of the former.

24. In a cigarette roller, means to produce a continuous length of cigarette including a tubular cigarette paper having a spiral seam extending along its length and enclosing the cigarette tobacco, comprising means to produce a continuous length of tubular cigarette paper having a spiral seam extending along its" length from a strip of said paper of substantially uniform width andv to fill said length of tubular cigarette paper with tobacco, said means comprising a hollow horn of internal size sub-' stantially the same as the diameter of thecigarette, said horn having a paper entrance portion. and a cylindrical delivery portion having a delivery end, means to continuously supply to" the interior surface of the paper receiving portion of said horn the strip of paper in spiral fashion during advance of the paper through the horn from. the paper entranceportionv of the horrr to the de livery end thereof, said means to supply the paper strip 18 to the paper entrance portion of the horn being constituted to supply the paper strip in a direction non-parallel to the axis of the horn by an angular amount corresponding to the spiral angle of the paper strip within the horn,

means to guide the edges of the paper strip at a location in advance of the paper entrance portion of the horn for paper strip travel in said direction and to feed the paper strip into the entrance portion of the horn in said nonparallel direction and in contact with the interior surface of the horn, means to progressively curl the paper strip into a cylindrical spiral in advance of the entrance portion of the horn and during travel of the paper strip to the entrance portion of the horn and to overlap one edge of the paper strip over the other edge" of said strip, means to adheretogether said overlapping edges of the strip, and means to supply tobacco against the concave face of the paper strip at a location in advance of the entrance portion of the horn.

25. Means as definedin claim 24, together with means to cut off a length of the cigarette at a position beyond the horn.

26. Means as defined in claim 24, wherein the paper strip includes adherent along one of its edges at that face of such edge which is proximate to the overlapped face of the other edge of the strip.

27'. Means as defined in claim 26, wherein such adherent is rendered adhering by application of water, together with means to apply water to the overlapping edges of the strip at a location beyond the horn.

28. Means as defined in claim. 26, together with means to cut off a length of the cigarette at a position beyond the horn.

29. Means as defined in claim 27, together with means to cut off a length of the cigarette at a position beyond the horn, said cut-off means being constituted to cut off the length of cigarette at a loeationbetween the horn and the means which adheres together the overlapping edges of the strip.

30. Means as defined in claim 24, wherein the means to supply tobacco against the concave face of the paper strip at a location in advance of the entrance portion of the horn includes a hopper for tobacco in position ad- I jacent to the concave face of the paper strip and means to urge the movement of tobacco from the hopper in direction towards the concave face of the paper strip.

31. Means as defined in claim 30', wherein said hopper includeswallsurfaces providing. an enclosure terminating at a location continguous to the location of supply of the tobacco to the concave surface aforesaid, said wall surfaces being unconnected together at said contiguous location, together with means urging the tobacco enclosed by said wall surfaces towards said location of sup ply of the tobamo to the concave surface.

' 32. Means as defined in claim 31, together with a package of tobacco of contour size to fit into the spaceof said wall surface enclosure, said package having a removable enclosure portion. adapted to register with said location of supply of tobacco to the concave surface, wherein the means to urge the tobacco enclosed by the wall: surfaces towards said location of supply of the tobacco to the concave surface acts within saidpacka'ge' of tobacco contained within the space of the wall surface enclosure.

33. Means as defined in claim 31, wherein said wall surfaces comprise the surfaces of a rectangular enclosure; together. with a rectangular package of tobacco of thickness to seat into said enclosure between said surfaces, said package having a removable'enclosure portion in one of its surfaces normal to the aforesaid. wall surfaces, said removable enclosure portion when removed: providing an opening of the package to register with the location of supply of tobacco to the concave surface aforesaid when said package is contained within the rec tangular enclosure of' the hopper aforesaid, and wherein the means to urge the tobacco enclosed by the wall surfaces towards said location of supply of the tobacco to the concave surface acts within said package of tobacco contained within the'pace of the wall surface enclosures.

34. Means as defined in claim 30, together with a movable tobacco supply interrupting element within the hopper, means to movably support said element within the hopper, said movable element being movable between a tobacco supply interrupting position and a tobacco supply non-interrupting position within the hopper, said movable element interrupting position being a position in the path of movement of tobacco within the hopper towards the concave face of the paper strip, and means to move said movable tobacco supply interrupting element into said non-interrupting position.

35; Means as defined in claim 34, wherein said movable tobacco supply interrupting element when inv said interrupting position occupies a position with said hopper across the path of tobacco movement towards the concave surface of the paper strip, together with a package of tobacco of contour and size to fit into said hopper and having an opening adapted to register with the location of delivery of tobacco against the concave face of the paper strip, said package of tobacco being insertable into the hopper towards the location of delivery of tobacco against the concave face of the paper strip and a portion of the package of tobacco moving across the interrupting position of the movable element when such package of tobacco is inserted into the hopper and cooperating with the movable element, said cooperation producing a force acting in direction to move the movable element to said non-interrupting position.

36. Means as defined in claim 35, together with-spring means urging the movable element into said interrupting position. a v I 37. In a cigarette roller, means to produce a continuous length of cigarette including a tubular cigarette paper having a spiral seam extending along its length and enclosing the cigarette tobacco, comprising means to produce a continuous length of tubular cigarette paper having a spiral seam extending along its length from a strip of said paper of substantially uniform Width and to fill said length of tubular cigarette paper with tobacco, comprising a hollow horn of internal size substantially the same as the diameter of the cigarette, said horn having a paper entrance portion and a cylindrical delivery portion having a delivery end, means to continuously supply to the interior surface of the paper entrance portion of said horn the strip of paper in spiral fashion during advance of the paper through the horn from the paper entrance portion of the horn to the delivery end thereof,

. said means to supply the paper strip to the paper entrance portion of the horn being constituted to supply the paper strip in a direction non-parallel to the axis of the born by an angular amount corresponding to the spiral angle of the paper strip within the horn, means to feed the paper strip into the entrance portion of the horn in said spiral fashion, means to progressively curl the paper strip from a non-curved cross-section of the strip into a cylindrical spiral of curved cross-section of the strip at a location in advance of the entrance portion of the horn and during 'travel of the paper strip to the entrance portion of the horn; and to bring the edges of the paper strip into proximity with each other at a location adjacent to the entrance portion of the horn, and means to fasten together said edges of the strip, together with means to supply tobacco against the face of the paper strip at a location in advance of the entrance portion of the horn, said face of the paper strip being continuous with the concave surface of the paper strip at the entrance portion of the horn.

38. Means as defined in claim 37, together with means acting in direction parallel to the axis of the horn to advance the tobacco supplied against the paper strip, in the direction of travel towards the horn.

39. Means as defined in claim 38, together with means to compact the tobacco moving into the location of the entrance portion of the horn. 1

40. Means as defined in claim 39, wherein said compacting means includes means to progressively produce said compacting operation during movement of the paper strip and tobacco towards the entrance portion of the horn.

41. In a cigarette roller, means to produce a continuous length of cigarette including a tubular cigarette paper having a spiral seam extending along its length and enclosing the cigarette tobacco, comprising means to prodnce a continuous length of tubular cigarette paper having a spiral seam extending along its length from a strip of said paper of substantially uniform Width and to fill said length of tubular cigarette paper with tobacco, comprising a hollow horn of internal size substantially the same as the diameter of the cigarette, said horn having a paper entrance portion and a cylindrical delivery portion having a delivery end, means to continuously supply to the interior surface of the paper entrance portion of said horn the strip of paper in a direction non-parallel to the axis of the horn by an angular amount corresponding to the spiral angle of the seam of the tubular cigarette paper, means to feed the paper strip into the entrance portion of the horn in said non-paralllel direction, including means to progressively curl the paper strip into the cylindrical spiral of the same radius as the radius of the interior of the horn and to bring the edges of the paper strip into proximity with each other at a location adjacent to the paper entrance to the horn, and means to fasten together said edges, of the strip, together with means to supply tobacco against the concave face of the curling paper strip at a location in advance of the paper strip entrance to the horn.

42. Means as defined in claim 41 together with means to advance the tobacco delivered against the paper strip, in the direction of travel towards the horn.

43. A cigarette roller for the production of spiral seam cigarettes, comprising in combination a box like tobacco supply chamber including front and back ends, opposing side walls and a top, and a twister unit beneath said chamber and comprising a blank of sheet material of generally rectangular contour, said sheet including a substantially fiat longitudinally extending paper strip guide section extending downwardly and forwardly adjacent to one of the side walls of the tobacco supply chamber from a paper strip supply location adjacent to the back end of the tobacco supply chamber to a location lower than said chamber, and said twister unit also including a cylindrical cigarette delivery horn at its front end and lower than the tobacco supply chamber, said horn having an internal diameter substantially the same as the diameter of a cigarette to be fed through the horn from the location of the paper strip guide section to the front delivery end of the horn, the horn having its axis substantially parallel to the lower portion of the tobacco supply chamber, the longitudinal axis of the paper strip guide section and the axis of the horn being non-parallel to each other by an angle substantially equal to the spiral angle of the spiral seam of the cigarettes to be produced by said roller, the blank being cylindrically curled on a radius the same as the radius of the horn and about the axis of the horn, said curl of the blank merging with the flat paper strip guide section on a straight line which lies parallel to the the horn, the direction of tobacco supply to said paper surface being substantially parallel to the flat paper guide section and being towards the concave curling surface portion of the paper strip, means within the tobacco supply chamber to urge movement of the tobacco in direction of supply, and means to supply paper strip to the paper strip guide at said paper strip supply location.

44. Means as defined in claim 43, together with means to guide the edges of the paper strip during its travel along the paper strip guide section in direction substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of said paper guide strip section.

45. Means as defined in claim 43, wherein the paper strip supply location of the paper strip guide section is at an elevation higher than the lower portion of the tobacco supply chamber.

46. Means as defined in claim 45, wherein the flat paper strip guide section includes a fiat area extending substantially to the location of the horn, and wherein said flat area lies at higher elevations than the lower portion of the tobacco supply chamber and alongside of the proximate side wall of said chamber.

47. Means as defined in claim 43, together with drive means coaxial with the horn and the curled portion of the twister, and means to support said coaxial drive means for movement in direction to urge tobacco in engagement with the surface of the paper strip in direction towards the horn.

48. Means to produce a spiral wrap for a cylindrical tobacco smoking product, comprising a twister unit having a circular product delivery orifice of diameter substantially equal to the cylindrical tobacco smoking prod uct to be wrapped, said unit having a curled concave surface formed on a cylinder of the same diameter as said delivery orifice and coaxial with said orifice and extend ing backwardly from the orifice, and said twister unit including a flat surface strip supply guide section with its flat surface tangent to the perimeter of the orifice and tangent to the concave curled surface and lying in a plane parallel to the axis of the orifice and of the concave curled surface aforesaid, said guide section being of width to accommodate a strip of the wrapper of uniform width approaching the concave curled surface portion and the axis of said guide section being non-parallel to the axis of the orifice and of the curled surface by an angle equal to the angle of spiral of the Wrapper to be produced, the plane of said guide section merging smoothly with said concave curled surface, together with means to guide the edges of the strip of wrapper travelling along the fiat surface strip guide section and in surface engagement with the concave surface of the curled surface portion, said guide means being constituted for guide of strip movement in direction non-parallel to the axis of the orifice and of the concave curled surface by an angle equal to the angle of spiral.

49. Means as defined in claim 48, wherein said guide means comprise a flange extending along the edge of the flat guide section and a flange extending along the edge of the concave curled surface section, both of said flanges overlying the edge portions of the strip of wrapper lying in facial contact with the surfaces of the unit at the locations of such sections of the unit.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

